Today Britain’s political parties will trade blows again over the latest immigration statistics, and ‘who’s to blame’. The Election is just 70 days away. Britain needs reasoned proposals for the next five years, not a backward looking blame game.
‘In an immigration system fixated by targets, Britain’s refugees have too often been treated as collateral damage’ said Stephen Hale OBE, Refugee Action’s Chief Executive.
The latest figures show a small rise in the number of refugees seeking safety in the UK, with a six per cent increase in asylum applications in 2014 from 2013. War and brutal repression are leaving people from Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and elsewhere with no choice but to flee their homeland.
The world is facing the greatest refugee crisis in decades. Yet the 24,914 asylum applications in 2014 are still relatively low compared to the peak of 84,132 in 2002.
‘Britain must provide asylum seekers and refugees with the protection and support they deserve’ adds Hale. ‘Britain’s political parties must outline their proposals for an efficient and fair immigration and asylum policy, which reflects our national self-interest and the rights of those feeling war and persecution’.